Southern U. President Sues His Board

Submitted by Doug Lederman on April 3, 2009 - 3:00am

Ralph Slaughter has sued the Southern University Board of Supervisors, challenging its decision not to renew his contract as president when it expires at the end of June. The Baton Rouge Advocate[1] reported that Slaughter argues that board members were illegally polled in private, before the public vote on his future. As a result, Slaughter is seeking an injunction to void the vote to end his presidency. The suit also contends that some board members had orders from Gov. Bobby Jindal to remove him. The university board's lawyer denied wrongdoing and a spokesman for the governor said that the claim about Jindal's role is "absolutely not" true.